Well, what are the Tar Heels going to do from here?
Mack Brown predicted that his team would get better as the season rolled on, much to the dismay caused by fast starts and horrid finishes the last two years. And the 41-14 shellacking of Virginia in Charlottesville was not only a mirror-image score, it represented diametric domination on the field.
The surprising upset was only Brown’s second win at Virginia in his Carolina coaching career, although under head coaches between his two tenures the Tar Heels had won four straight in Scott Stadium, which on this beautifully balmy day began to empty out early. UNC is now 28-27 at Virginia.
While Jacolby Criswell, J.J. Jones and Omarion Hampton had moments we have seen before, the interior lines in light blue britches took total command of the game early and never let up. The offense protected Criswell by not allowing a sack and the defense showed a bull-rushing mentality and tackling acuity we have not seen much this season, which is now even at 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC with four games left.
Virginia, by contrast, missed so many tackles that it looked to be playing two-handed touch as the Tar Heels ran through them and away from them. Brown was ecstatic with the 24-6 halftime lead, their biggest of the season, and holding the Cavaliers to 77 total yards, a season low. He said coming off the field, “We haven’t been consistent this season so it’s really important that we play the same way in the second half.”
They did, finishing with five touchdowns and two field goals by Noah Burnette, who along with five PATs now has 263 career points after passing Mike Voight’s 254 for sixth place.
Jones, who has dedicated the rest of the season to his fallen best friend Tylee Craft, came off the week of mourning and recharging with five catches for a career-high 129 yards and two touchdowns, the second on an acrobatic 31-yard dime dropped into the deep left corner of the end zone by Criswell that pretty much broke Virginia’s will. Jones finished with his 100th reception as a Tar Heel, targeted without injured leading receiver Bryson Nesbit.
Hampton had his 16th career game rushing for more than 100 yards, with his 105 breaking the 1,000 season barrier that puts him in contention to reach Don McCauley’s school record of 1,720 in 1970. Carolina has now had a player rush for at least 100 yards in all eight games, a first in school history.
Omarion Hampton continued his strong form, surpassing the 1,000 yard mark for the season with four regular season games to go. (Photo via UNC Athletic Communications.)
“The offensive line is getting healthy and played the best it has all year,” Brown said. “Jacolby gets better every week, and the offensive staff is learning what he does best. So we’re finally getting an offense with the third quarterback we’ve played this season.”
But, despite scoring 41 points, make no mistake that the defense was the collective star of this game with startlingly comparative statistics that go far beyond holding Virginia to a net 7 yards rushing.
For example, they had 10 quarterback sacks after none in the last two games and only 15 in the first seven. Stick Lane had 9 tackles and one of the sacks, while Kaimon Rucker had an interception plus 3 sacks (that gives him a career 20) and 3.5 tackles for losses. The rest of the sacks came from Amare Campbell, Beau Atkinson, Alijah Huzzie, Des Evans and Jahvaree Ritzie, who had the most electrifying, if not consequential, play of the game with his first career interception and touchdown late in the third quarter.
The Cavaliers were threatening to score their first touchdown after two wimpy field goals, when Ritzie deflected a pass, pulled it down and led a convoy of teammates to an 84-yard ramble by the 6-5, 290-pound senior. He slapped one tackler away and went down the sideline untouched after linebacker Campbell blasted 313-pound Virginia lineman McKale Boley off his feet. Ritzie crossed the goal line, cradled the ball under crossed arms and waited for his teammates to mob him all the way to the bench area.
It was the stuff of SportsCenter, if ESPN is still paying any attention to the Tar Heels.
The Wahoos, who also wound up the afternoon at 4-4, were thoroughly waxed for the final 50 minutes of the game but had an incredibly tough break with their first possession.
After forcing Carolina into a three-and-out with the opening kickoff, Virginia returned Tom Maginness’ punt 24 yards across midfield and then drove steadily toward the Heels’ red zone. The Cavaliers appeared to score on a 17-yard pass before officials ruled the receiver was out of bounds inside the one yard line. On first and goal, they lost 12 yards on a bad snap and settled for a 30-yard field goal. They did not get close to the goal line until falling behind 38-6 after Ritzie’s pick-6 gem about 35 minutes of clock time later.
Brown called Virginia coach Tony Elliott “the classiest person I’ve ever known, I think.” Elliott had asked Brown if they could put Craft’s No. 13 sticker on his team helmets for the game and said every player on the UVa squad wrote notes to every member of the Tar Heels.
“That’s pretty cool, and it doesn’t happen anymore in sportsmanship,” Brown said, putting it into context of the three Virginia football players who were shot and killed two years ago. “He had to deal with the loss of three young people that was so tragic and so sudden. With Tylee, we had some time to process it, and Tony didn’t.”
Brown said he told the players the win was their first step toward finishing strong, which they haven’t done the last two years. “Off the field, I think we have the best program in the country,” he said, “but we’ve lost four in a row and you can’t do that. Winning makes that locker room unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them that happy.”
Florida State (1-7) is the first of four remaining opponents without winning records. Usually, the Seminoles, Wake Forest, Boston College and N.C. State are better than they have been so far this season. Same with the Tar Heels, and the remaining schedule gives them a chance for what they haven’t had recently.
A happy ending.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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